Jenks Lake East Dispersed Camping

Camped here in early January 2024. The place is right off the main paved road but it’s pretty quiet and lonely the further inward you go. It snows here this time of year and 4x4 would be ideal if you want to camp deeper into the secluded snowy areas. My truck is FWD and I did okay but it did lose traction once on the ice (slow and steady is the way).

The views are really nice and there’s plenty of trails to enjoy out here. I would save offline maps/trail maps if you have the ability to (e.g. AllTrails). Verizon had 2 LTE bars for me, which was enough to stream YouTube and upload content to share with family at night. I didn’t have to whip out my weBoost.

All in all, a great pretty cool place that’s free and only 20-25 minutes to big bear lake.

We came here in a 29 fts trailer and truck. It was easy to get into. ATT data was 1/5 bars, on the router, we got 70 mbp down, 1.5 mbp up. We are enjoying the cool weather considering it's over 100 degrees in LA. Very quiet. We got free potable water at Barton Flats Campground, 5 min away with Blue spigots, $10 for dump. We are 35 min away from Big Bear Lake.

Uhhhhhh I am not even sure I want to share all of this greatness but in the spirit of this site I will. I pulled up my 20 ft travel trailer to Barton Flatts campground to get water (pull in and go right for dump and water station)- thanks to the person on this thread who posted that was a thing!- I then when to Jenks Lake Road and explored. I dropped the trailer and went round the loop. Good thing I did because I would not have made it around with my trailer. I found about 20 great tent and camper ok spots. I went back and got the camper and went right at the fork to a clearing. I stayed 4 days. I went to Big Bear one day, went to Lake Jenks one day and went hiking to the river from the site one day. I was a solo girl for a lot of my trip and everyone was so nice when I walked around. Some late night partying on the Friday night but the other nights were chill. No trash, no water, no anything. Just good old off grid camping. The sheriff came around on Sunday and drove through. I am definitely going back!

The place is right off a paved road so it's pretty accessible by any vehicle. It was very clean and far enough from the main road that it was very quiet.

Could not find a level spot so that's something to be aware of. Seems pretty big but the road does get worst as you go further in. Only saw two other campers in the middle of the week.

Verizon was 0-1 bar so practically useless for even simple web browsing. However, with a cell booster you can stream video with Verizon. T-Mobile got 3 bars and could stream HD video without a cell booster.

Jenks Lake is a beautiful area but this Jenks Lake East Dispersed Camping /remote camping with no toilets sadly means that MANY people leave toilet paper scattered every where. So sad. "free" isn't always worth it. i can't believe other reviewers haven't mentioned this as I have driven through 5 different times and it is always filled of TP litter, worse each time so will not camp here again. There are no camp fires at any time, though many have left evidence of fire rings. The ranger i spoke with told me they are constantly giving out fines. As it is a remote spot and no host, people run their generators for long periods at all hours. Be sure to have a fire permit, Ranger checks for that and tells people to put their dogs on leash.

The road in is very rocky with some deep ditches from prior rains. It is doable without a 4X4, but rough on the shocks. Beware of coyotes. One came quite close to my dog until i scared it away, No cell service at least not for ATT or Sprint.

Mosquitos, flies and yellow jackets big time. Bring bug spray. Bring rubber gloves if you want to clear your site of tolilet paper.

To avoid some of the above issues, there is more developed camping at nearby South Fork, Barton Flats, San Gorgonio and Heart Bar campgrounds which all have running water and bathrooms and quiet hours. Plus at those campgrounds you can have a fire in fire pit if it isn't high fire danger warning.

Day trip to Jenks lake is lovely. Parking there is $5. and there is no nearby parking for free. You must have a fishing license to fish. There is no swimming allowed in the lake, But kayaks and carry in boats are allowed. (no motors). There is NO running water at the lake but there is a pit toilet restroom. There are picnic tables and BBQs. I did have ATT service at the lake.

Nearest store to all the above is about 8 miles in Angelus Oaks store (kind of like a 7-11 type place), and next door there is Angelus Oaks restaurant which has outside eating during pandemic. And there is also a post office. (I did not have ATT service at that location.)

Great place and no charge. Only saw two other campers during my stay. I didn’t give it 5 stars because my wife was mad that we didn’t have any cellular signal. Quiet and peaceful. Jenks lake not to far. Went fishing and caught some small mouth bass and hooked up on a largemouth bass. Hiked with the dogs and had a good time camping . I added photos so you can see my rig set up. You don’t need a 4x4. Access was very simple. Pulled my 26 ft travel trailer off the streets and found a nice little camping area. If and when I come again I will make sure to have my wife download movies and shows so she won’t be so bored.